WTA

Martincova eases through as Britons dominate first round of Nottingham Open

By Sports Desk June 06, 2022

Tereza Martincova got off to a winning start at the Nottingham Open, where there were three British winners on home soil on Monday.

World number 60 Martincova recorded a 7-6 (7-1) 7-5 triumph over France's Oceane Dodin to ease into the second round in Nottingham.

Heather Watson, ranked 102nd in the world, had no problems as she eased past Katie Volynets 6-4 6-2, and fellow Briton Hannah Dart followed suit by defeating Donna Vekic 6-4 6-3.

Jodie Burrage completed the first-round sweep for British women, downing Lin Zhu 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.

At the Rosmalen Grass Court Championship, top seed Aryna Sabalenka was due to face Kateryna Baindl but bad weather curtailed the day's play early.

Earlier on, Anna Kalinskaya edged out Suzan Lamens 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 in the first round, while Catherine McNally, Storm Sanders, Olivia Gadecki and Jamie Loeb were all triumphant in qualifying.

Related items

  • Linette dominates first all-Polish WTA final to win Prague Open Linette dominates first all-Polish WTA final to win Prague Open

    Magda Linette rounded off her Olympic preparations in style as she claimed her third WTA title with a comfortable win over Magdalena Frech at the Prague Open. 

    Linette, who beat Viktoriya Tomova and Linda Noskova on her way to the final, won in straight sets 6-2 6-1 as she now heads to Paris to face Mirra Andreeva. 

    The world number 41 was in the ascendency from the off, forcing a break in the fourth game and never looking back. 

    Despite the best efforts of Frech, who saved one set point, Linette continued to apply the pressure and another break put her a set up.

    Linette would again break in the fourth game of the second set, winning three games on the bounce to secure her first career win over her compatriot. 

    Data Debrief: Linette prevails in first all-Polish affair

    The final in Prague between Linette and Frech was the first all-Polish WTA level final in the Open Era. 

    Linette's triumph over her opponent was her first, having lost in the pair's previous encounter in Saint-Malo back in 2022. 

    During the contest, the world number 41 gave nothing away, saving all four of the break points she faced while converting three of the seven she had against Frech. 

  • Linette and Frech to warm up for Olympics with first all-Polish WTA final Linette and Frech to warm up for Olympics with first all-Polish WTA final

    Ahead of joining compatriot Iga Swiatek at the Paris Olympics, Magda Linette and Magdalena Frech will prepare by contesting the first all-Polish WTA final of the Open Era.

    Linette and Frech, ranked 48th and 57th respectively by the WTA, will both take part in the Olympic singles tournament at Roland-Garros, for which four-time French Open champion Swiatek is the firm favourite.

    While Swiatek has been drawn to face Romania's Irina-Camelia Begu in the first round, Linette will face Mirra Andreeva and Frech is set to take on Bulgaria's Viktoriya Tomova.

    Before then, though, the latter duo will go head-to-head in the final of the Prague Open.

    Both overcame home favourites to advance to the showpiece match in Czechia, Linette beating first seed Linda Noskova 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7-2).

    Frech, meanwhile, benefitted from a walkover against 16-year-old Laura Samsonova, the former Wimbledon girl's champion being forced to retire while down 3-6 6-0 4-2.

    Frech, who is yet to win a WTA Tour-level title, won the only previous meeting between the pair in the Saint Malo quarter-finals in 2022, triumphing 7-5 6-7 (2-7) 6-2.

  • Nadal could face Djokovic in second round at Olympic Games Nadal could face Djokovic in second round at Olympic Games

    Rafael Nadal could face Novak Djokovic in a heavyweight second-round match at the Paris Olympic Games after the draws for the tennis tournaments were made on Thursday.

    Nadal is widely expected to retire from tennis later this year, with the Olympics set to represent his swansong at Roland-Garros, where he has won 14 French Open titles.

    He will play in both the singles and doubles tournaments, partnering current French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz for the latter competition.

    Nadal and Alcaraz will face Argentina's fourth-seeded pair Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni in a difficult first-round matchup in the doubles tournament.

    Nadal is one of just two players to have won Olympic gold in both singles and doubles since the sport returned to the Games in 1988, doing so at Beijing 2008 (singles) and Rio 2016 (doubles) – Nicolas Massu triumphed over both events at Athens 2004.

    In the singles, Nadal will take on Hungary's Marton Fucsovics in the opening round, and the prize could be a second-round date with Djokovic, who faces Australian Matthew Ebden first.

     

    They are on the same side of the draw as third seed Alexander Zverev, who faces Jaume Munar first, and seventh seed Taylor Fritz, who opens against Alexander Bublik.

    On the opposite side of the bracket, Alcaraz will start his campaign against Hady Habib, with Britain's Cameron Norrie a potential second-round opponent.

    Fourth seed Daniil Medvedev faces Rinky Hijikata in his first match, while fifth seed Alex de Minaur is a potential quarter-final opponent for Alcaraz.

    Britain's Andy Murray withdrew from the singles event to concentrate on his doubles bid alongside Dan Evans on Thursday, and the duo will face Kei Nishikori and Taro Daniel of Japan first.

    Should they advance, home favourites Arthur Fils and Ugo Humbert could await in round two, with Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul potential quarter-final foes, though the Americans will have to overcome Canada's Milos Raonic and Felix Auger Aliassime to get that far.

    Murray and Evans cannot face Nadal and Alcaraz until the final. 

    Iga Swiatek is the strong favourite in the women's draw, having won four French Open titles on the Paris clay. Romania's Irina-Camelia Begu is her round-one opponent.

    On her same side of the draw, there is a huge round-one clash between Naomi Osaka and 2016 silver medallist Angelique Kerber, who announced on Thursday that she will retire after the Games.

    Elena Rybakina and Danielle Collins are also on that side of the draw, while Coco Gauff starts against Ajla Tomljanovic on the opposite side of the bracket.

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.